I remember a time when all gardeners thought plants should be green. Anything that wasn't was not considered healthy. Then about 20 years or so ago, color crept into our foliage. Variegations became the rage and we couldn't get enough lime greens, burgundies and blues.

But gray foliage plants remain popular for many reasons. They usually require less water because their slightly furry surfaces reflect heat and transpire less than glossy green leaves. What's more, design-wise they are considered a neutral and pair well with other plants.

Try gray with pinks and burgundies and you will have a sophisticated plant palette for a border. Equally pretty are

grays with all shades of yellow.

We asked garden experts to name their favorite gray plants.

Here are their nominations:

Ron Vanderhoff

Vanderhoff is native-plant enthusiast and nursery manager at Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach. Find him at Rogersgardens.com

favorite plant: Dudleya

“I choose chalk dudleya (Dudleya pulverulenta) as my favorite gray-leaved plant. It's a native from right here in Orange County, very drought-tolerant as a succulent, and it thrives on neglect. And it's pure chalky gray – stunning!”

Billy Goodnick

Goodnick is a landscape architect in Santa Barbara and author of “Yards: Turn Any Outdoor Space Into the Garden of Your Dreams” and a regular contributor to Fine Gardening magazine. Find him at billygoodnick.com.

favorite plant: Acacia cultriformis

“Acacia cultriformis (knife leaf acacia) tops my list for a small-scale, tree-like silvery focal point. Although it wants to be a droopy, dense, 15-foot-high shrub, I help my clients open them up to show their wonderful branch structure. The bonus is their fragrant yellow flowers that look like tiny puff balls at the ends of the branches.”

Claire Jones

Jones owns a design/build service, Claire Jones Landscapes in Maryland, and blogs about the ups and downs of the gardening world at thegardendiaries.com.

favorite plant: Dichondra argentea

“For a spiller, dichondra ‘Silver Falls' is unparalleled in window boxes and containers. A dream of a dripper with delicate silver foliage that can cascade to six feet or more in one season. Also grown as a spreading ground cover that roots along the leaf nodes, ‘Silver Falls' can cover an area 3 to 4 feet across with a height of only 2 to 4 inches.”

Jane Gates

Gates owns Gates & Croft Horticultural Design in Los Angeles and is the author of “All the Garden's a Stage: Choosing the Best Performing Plants for a Sustainable Garden.” Find her at gardengates.info.

favorite plant: Teucrium fruticans ‘Azureum'

“Teucrium fruticans ‘Azureum' has great sky-blue flowers that make the plant glow.”

Molly Wood

Wood is a Costa Mesa garden designer and popular shopkeeper at Molly Wood Garden Design. Find out more atmollywoodgardendesign .com.">

favorite plant: Teucrium fruticans ‘Azureum'

“Teucrium fruticans ‘Azureum' has great sky-blue flowers that make the plant glow.”

Molly Wood

Wood is a Costa Mesa garden designer and popular shopkeeper at Molly Wood Garden Design. Find out more atmollywoodgardendesign .com.

favorite plant: westringia

“I like westringia ‘Smokey' because of its natural mounding shape. It's easy to trim into a sphere or can work as a grounding material with a wild texture like miscanthus or salvia ‘Waverly.' It also blends easily into California water-wise gardens as well as a more formal setting with boxwood and roses.”

Nan Sterman

Sterman is a San Diego-based garden writer, garden designer and host of “A Growing Passion,” a TV show that celebrates the ways we grow at agrowingpassion.com. She is also author of “Gardener's Guide and Water-Wise Plants for the Southwest.” Her upcoming book, “Hot Colors, Dry Garden,” will be published in 2014.

favorite plant: Glaucium flavum

“The horned poppy is a perennial, with gray, slightly fuzzy leaves. The 2-foot flower stalks rise from the center in spring and bloom in large apricot-colored flowers. Flowering begins a year or two after planting. Sometimes the mother plant dies, but seedlings pop up nearby. Needs no water after it is established.”

Rebecca Sweet

Sweet is a garden designer in Northern California and the author of “Refresh Your Garden Design With Color, Texture and Form” and co-author of “Garden Up.” She blogs at harmony inthegarden.com.

favorite plant: Senecio greyii

“Nothing cools down a hot bed faster than the gray-green velvety foliage of the daisy bush. And I love the delicate tracery of white along the margins. A tough shrub to include in a sunny border, it requires nothing but occasional pinching to keep it busy. Yellow blooms in late summer.”

Debra Lee Baldwin

Baldwin is the San Diego author of the books “Succulents Simplified,” “Succulent Container Gardens” and “Designing With Succulents.”

favorite plant: kalanchoe

“Kalanchoe tomentosa, the panda plant, is my fave for fuzzy texture and intriguing stitched-looking edges. It looks great in any container combo, especially with blue greens.”

Frank Hyman

Hyman designs, builds and plants gardens in North Carolina. He's writing a book called “The Liberated Gardener.” He also writes for Urban Farm and Chickens magazine. Find his how-to videos at youtube.com /liberatedgardener.

favorite plant: Salvia argentea

“I'm a big fan of Salvia argentea ‘Silver Sage.' Woolly enough for any drought-tolerant landscape, even though I first saw it in Denmark. The flowers aren't very attractive, but the bunny-fur leaves are outstanding.”

Linda Larson

Larson is an Arizona author of “The Traveling Gardener, Wandering, Wondering, Noticing.” You can follow her adventures at travelinggardener.com.

Buddleia marrubifolia

“I really love my woolly butterfly bush with silvery gray leaves. It's an evergreen with low water needs and little maintenance. And it brings the butterflies dancing through the garden.”

Maureen Gilmer

Gilmer is a landscape designer, author and columnist. Find her on Facebook, Pinterest and at MoPlants.com.

favorite plant: Kalanchoe beharensis

“I highly recommend large, fuzzy gray Kalanchoe beharensis. Stems of this plant take on sinuous forms and are studded with great texture for outstanding night lighting. The pubescent gray leaves are … fabulous when creative night lighting casts their shadows against a minimal structural background.”

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